Lets not drag afrikaans into this. I really suck at it. Both of my math exams are happening next week so I gotta worry about doing well in that for now. How's everyone else finding the exams in general?
Lets not drag afrikaans into this. I really suck at it. Both of my math exams are happening next week so I gotta worry about doing well in that for now. How's everyone else finding the exams in general?
So far it was quite easy-ish. Today's literature was Oookayy. I think everyone interpreted the compulsory poem a bit differently.
Yes, next week is Maths. I got an A in September, so I am not too fussed.
That poem was veri ambiguous, I couldn't make out if it was two people, or if it was a person and a TV or what was going on.
Exactly... When I read it the 1st time, TV came to mind, and then I saw the questions and I was like "WTF? Relationships. Where does that shizzle come from?".Originally Posted by Banlam
Agreed.
I just googled the poem. It doesn't exist. hmmm...
---
Edit:THe author (Helen Segal) doesn't even have a wikipedia entry. Although she seemed to be married to a famous sculptor: George Segal. The poem is:
Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what it's about?Let's do away
with the show -
the smart slick
spectacle
of the
twentyieth-century
living room
cultivate
a little shyness
and a little dust -
the shabbiness
of well-used
chairs
that understand
anatomy
face each other
if we can
Last edited by Banlam; 11-10-2007 at 05:53 PM.
A person and their TV. Nothing else came to mind.
Unless someone got a pole installed in their living room I think its a TV.twentyieth-century
living room
what paper did you guys right ? first or 2nd language , cos I cant rmember such a poem ? (I wrote 1st lang.)
WCED Senior Certificate Examination English Primary Language Second Paper.
It was the compulsory poem. The first page.
:/
I don't know about you, but I can't see anything to do with a TV in that poem ?
It seems to be about 2 people who either have feelings for each other and don't know how to show them or 2 people who don't really get along.
I might be way off though, I'm not sure if my analytical prowess are all that great.
That's the poem we got here in KZN. Quite simple actually, along with the other poems.Introduction to poetry
I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide
or press an ear against its hive.
I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,
or walk inside the poem's room
and feel the walls for a light switch.
I want then to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore.
But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with a rope
and torture a confession out of it.
They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.
Billy Collins
Hah , the papers differ , I forgot , I wrote inGauteng duh , cos thats where I live duh . Anyway , ours was about a blue watchguard or something , really easy though :)
please delete
Last edited by RazoR89; 11-10-2007 at 08:27 PM. Reason: double post ... It was all firefox's fault !
I reckon its about a shallow relationship, thats what some other people at my school said as well.
I interpreted that their relationship is the paradigm of your 20th century everything-works-perfectly relationship. She does not want it that way. She wants it to be non-fake. She wants it to be real.
I think she is describing the regression of human interaction/society brought about by television and the "no-brain" entertainment that started in the 20th century.
First stanza is the fresh, exciting possibilities brought about by T.V. and the like. Progressing to how the TV loses its charm after a while.
Second stanza is the current state of things. How we are bound in front of the TV. How we stagnate (dust) and become inseperable (chairs knowing anatomy) with the TV.
Third stanza is the future of things. How we can't communicate, we can't face each other. We can only face the TV.
I could be wrong, but I doubt it ;)
Last edited by PloPshoP; 11-10-2007 at 09:21 PM. Reason: Headbutting puppies.
I wrote the same paper as Razo. The watchman's blues. Really easy. I'm not looking forward to the non-algebraic geometry part of math paper 2. I can never see those angles and stuff.
You know what I think, I think poets write stuff to confuse us in to thinking that there's something there that isn`t there. It funny that a poem will be interpreted differently depending on the person yet there's a set of model answer.
That sound about right.
Hell that sounds just about perfect really.
Your answer could still be correct as long as you have valid proof from the poem to back it up(well that's what the english teacher says)
@Plopshop: Can you then answer the following?
1.1) How does the use of the word "show" (line 2) help to suggest the relationship between the speaker and the one being addressed?
1.2) How does the description in lines 3-7 help to emphasise the speaker's feelings about their relationship?
1.4) Explain why the personas in the poem do not face each other?
Alas, I think I see now that it COULD be a relationship with the TV... Heck, who knows?
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